Tie plate anchor spike



Sept. 28, 1954 R, J. MccoMB 2,690,305

TIE PLATE ANCHOR SPIKE Filed May 11, 1953 IN V EN TOR.

Z4404 ///.s finale/vars .railon the tie plate. metal bar that is bent double, with the bent por- Patented Sept. 28, 1954 UNITED STATES 6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to spikes for anchoring :railroad tie plates to 'wooden ties, and more particularly to laterally resilient spikes that are compressed when driven into place.

In Patent No. 2,524,806 a resilient railroad spike is shown which is used for fastening a tie plate to a tie. It has nothing to do with holding a The spike is made from a tion at the head of the spike. The upper portion of the spike has spaced sides which are forced toward each other as the spike is driven into place. The spike is supposed to tightly engage two opposite sides of the tie plate hole in order to keep the plate from shifting on the tie and thereby cutting down into it. However, the

spaced portions of the patented spike extend a considerable distance down into the tie and, as a result, are pressed toward each other by the tie itself. This reduces the width of the portion of the spike in the tie plate hole and, therefore,

opposite sides of the hole simultaneously or with enough pressure to keep the plate from shifting. At best, the patented spike only engages two opposite sides of a tie plate hole, so the plate still may move laterally in the vertical plane of those sides.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a tie plate anchor spike that cannot be overdriven, and that will always tightly engage at least two opposite sides of a tie plate hole with considerable pressure, and that cannot be compressed by the tie. Another object is to provide such a spike which will press tightly against all four sides of a tie plate hole.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of one of my spikes;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section through a tie plate supporting a rail on a tie, with my spike anchoring the tie plate;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the spike taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section through a tie plate showing a modified spike driven into the tie;

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 of a further modification; and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the Fig. 5 spike, taken on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawings, a tie plate anchor spike is formed from a rectangular bar of spring steel which has been bent midway between its ends to bring those ends and the ad- .in some cases prevents the spike from engaging solid spike 8 driven into the tie.

joining end portions of the bar together to form a straight shank l. The mid portion of the bar isbent in such a way as to form a curved head .2, most suitably circular, with the opposite sides of the .lower end of the head spaced apart. The head is connected by a short contact spring section .3 to the upper end of the shank. The lower ends of the two legs of the shank are cut ofi at an angle to form a point on the spike so that it can be driven down into a wooden tie. The contact spring section of the spike is formed from two short portions of the bar that are spaced a considerable distance apart at their upper ends :but merge into the shank at their lower ends.

.In Fig. 2 there is shown a conventional tie plate 5 resting on a wooden tie t and supporting a rail base l which is held in place by the usual Near each end of the tie plate it is provided with the standard square hole 9 for a spike that is driven into the tie for anchoring the plate on the tie. It is through this hole that my anchor spike is driven into the tie, which does not need to be bored to receive it. It will be observed that the circular head of the spike is wide enough for its lower end to engage the tie plate at the upper end of the hole in order to hold the plate down on the tie and. also to limit the distance that the .spike can be driven through the plate. It will also be seen inFigs. 2 and 3 that the thickness of the bar, from which the spike is formed, is less than half the width of the tie plate hole.

The opposite sides of the contact spring section of the bar are spaced far enough apart originally to require the spring section to be compressed by the tie plate when driven down into the hole. An important feature is that the contact spring section has substantially the same length as the tie plate hole so that it will not enter the tie and be compressed byit before the head strikes thetop of the plate. Such compression by the tie would reduce or eliminate the pressure of the spike against opposite sides of the tie plate hole. With my form of spike, this lateral pressure is not reduced because all of the forces tending to compress the spring section of the spike are exerted by the tie plate itself. Since the spring section of the spike always presses Very tightly against opposite sides of the tie plate ,hole, the spike keeps the tie plate from shifting back and forth horizontally and thereby wearing andcutting-the tie and sinking down into it.

.Intheembodiment of the invention shown in .Fig. 4 the opposite sides of the short contact spring section [3 of the. spike arecurved outward away from each other so that they have not much more than a horizontal line contact with opposite sides of the tie plate hole. Of course, they exert agreat deal of pressure against the tie plate because all of that pressure is concentrated along their lines of contact with it. This form of spike has all of the advantages of the embodiment first described.

The anchor spike shown in Figs. 5 and 6 likewise has the advantages or" the first two forms. In addition, it has the advantage that it can be installed diagonally so that it will press against all four sides of the tie plate hole 9 and thereby restrain horizontal movement of the plate on the tie in all directions. To obtain this result the bar from which the spike is formed may be substantially half oval, half round or some other suitable shape in cross section. One side of the bar shown in Fig. 6 is flat and the other side is convex. If, as may be desirable in some cases, the width of the bar is made greater than the width of the tie plate hole, the spike Will have to be inserted in the hole more or less diagonally of it as shown. The bar is folded or bent so that the fiat sides of its opposite end portions come together to form an oval shank 23. The short contact spring section 23 of the spike may be either straight as in Fig. 1 or curved as in Fig. l. When the spike is inserted in the square tie plate hole diagonally and then driven down into the solid tie, each curved side surface of the contact spring section will engage two adjoining sides of the tie plate hole. As in the first two embodiments, the spring section is compressed when it is driven down into the tie plate, and all of the compression is caused by the plate because the head 22 of the spike engages the top of the plate n ar diagonally opposite corners of the hole before the contact spring section can penetrate the tie. Ihe result is strong pressure against all four sides of the tie plate hole so that the plate is prevented from shifting horizontally in any direction.

All spikes disclosed herein can easily be applied or removed by the conventional hand or mechanical tools now in use for such purposes.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and describedwhat I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A railroad spike for anchoring a tie plate on a wooden tie, the spike being formed of a resilient metal bar bent centrally upon itself to form a curved head connected by a contact spring section to a vertical shank, the thickness of said bar being less than half the width of the tie plate hole through which the spike is to extend, the head being wide enough for its lower end to engage the tie plate at the upper end of said hole when the spike is driven into the tie, the shank being formed from two straight long portions of the bar disposed side by side substantially in engagement with each other, and said spring section being formed from two short portions of the bar spaced apart far enough to cause the spring section to be compressed by the tie plate when driven down into said hole, said spring section having substantially the same length as the tie plate hole, whereby the spring section will not enter the tie and be compressed by it.

2. A spike according to claim 1, in which the head is substantially circular with the lower ends of its opposite sides spaced apart.

3. A railroad spike for anchoring a tie plate on a wooden tie, the spike being formed of a resilent metal bar bent centrally upon itself to form a curved head connected by a contact spring section to a vertical shank, the thickness of said bar being less than half the width of the tie plate hole through which the spike is to extend, the head being substantially circular with the lower ends of its opposite sides spaced apart and adapted to engage the tie plate at the upper end of said hole when the spike is driven into the tie, the shank being formed from two straight long portions of the bar disposed side by side substantially in engagement with each other, and said spring section being formed from two straight short portions of the bar spaced apart far enough to cause the spring section to be compressed by the tie plate when driven down into said hole, said short portions normally diverging upward but being substantially parallel when the spring section is compressed, and said spring section having substantially the same length as the tie plate hole, whereby the spring section will not enter the tie and be compressed by it.

A railroad spike for anchoring a tie plate on a wooden tie, the spike being formed of a resilient metal bent centrally upon itself to form a curved head connected by a contact spring section to a vertical shank, the thickness of said bar less than half the width of the tie plate hole through which the spike is to extend, the head being substantially circular with the lower ends of its opposite sides spaced apart and adapted to engage the tie plate at the upper end of said hole when the spike is driven into the tie, the shank being formed from two straight long portions of the bar disposed side by side substantially in engagement with each other, and said spring section being formed from two short portions of the bar spaced apart far enough to cause the spring section to be compressed by the tie plate when driven down into said hole, said short portions being curved outward away from each other and having substantially the same length as the tie plate hole, whereby the spring section will not enter the tie and be compressed by it.

5. A railroad spike for anchoring a tie plate on a wooden tie, the spike being formed of a resilient metal bar bent centrally upon itself to form a curved head connected by a contact spring section to a vertical shank, said bar having a fiat side and a convex side and having a thickness less than half the width of the tie plate hole through which the spike is to extend, the shank being formed from two straight long portions of 1c bar disposed side by side with their flat sides substantially in engagement with each other, said fiat sides being wider than the hole so that they must extend at an angle to the sides of said hole, the head being wide enough for its lower end to engage the tie plate at the upper end of said hole near diagonally opposite corners of the hole when the spike is driven into the tie, and said spring section being formed from two short portions of the bar spaced apart far enough to cause the spring section to be compressed by the tie plate when driven down into said hole, said spring section being adapted to engage all four sides of the tie plate hole and having substantially the same length as the hole, whereby the spring section will not enter the tie and be compressed by it.

6. A railroad spike for anchoring a tie plate on a wooden tie, the spike being formed. of a resilient metal bar bent centrally upon itself to form a curved head connected by a contact spring section to a vertical shank, the shank being formed from two straight long portions of the bar disposed side by side substantially in engagement with each other, the head being wide enough for its lower end to engage the tie plate at the upper end of said hole near diagonally opposite corners of the hole when the spike is driven into the tie diagonally of said hole, and said spring section being formed from two short portions of the bar spaced apart far enough to cause the spring section to be compressed by the 15 m Number 6 tie plate when driven down into said hole, said spring section being curved transversely to engage all four sides of the tie plate hole and having substantially the same length as the hole, whereby the spring section will not enter the tie and be compressed by it.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 2,257,640 Muller Sept. 30, 1941 2,401,957 Sandberg June 11, 1946 2,524,806 Jack Oct. 10, 1950 

